Johnson closes out Players Championship with 72 alongside Woods

After shooting a 75 on Saturday, Dustin Johnson fell to 3-over par 219 after three rounds and figured to have a leisurely final round of The Players Championship on Sunday beginning more than 5 1/2 hours before the leader teed off.

That expectation changed when Johnson saw the final round pairings Saturday night.

Johnson was paired with 79-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods on Sunday, and their round had the galleries, fanfare and commotion befitting a twosome vying for a title.

Both Johnson and Woods shot even-par 72s to tie for 69th at 3-over 291.

“It was fun. I enjoy playing with Tiger,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot better to play with him than in front of him. It doesn’t bother me. We have a good time playing together.”

Johnson made the turn Sunday at even par for his round following a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole, and got to 2 under with a short wedge shot to 6 feet for birdie on the par-4 12th and 16-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th. He bogeyed two of his final three holes Sunday following wayward drives.

On Thursday, Johnson was 3 under through the tournament’s opening 16 holes before taking a triple bogey with a shot into the water on the island-green par-3 17th hole.

“I just struggled this week,” Johnson said. “I feel like it’s really close to being good, really good. I hit a lot of really good shots. I just have to practice a little bit. My 3-wood, which has been my favorite club in my bag, I struggled a little bit with it and it cost me a lot of shots.

“I’ll work on that a little bit. Then my irons, they were either really good or terrible, so I have to fix that a little bit. A couple weeks at home will be nice, get a little practice in and get to relax a little bit.”

Johnson will next tee it up in the AT&T Byron Nelson outside Dallas from May 28-31, which will begin a stretch of four consecutive tournaments for the Coastal Carolina alumnus.

He is skipping this upcoming week’s Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C., and the subsequent Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Following the Byron Nelson, he intends to play the next three weeks in the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio; FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn.; and U.S. Open at Chambers Bay Golf Club in University Place, Wash.

Johnson is considering taking four weeks off following the U.S. Open before playing in the British Open, according to his brother and caddie, Austin.

Johnson said he is flying into and out of Myrtle Beach on Wednesday to shoot some promotional photos and videos for marketing cooperative Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, with whom he has an endorsement agreement. “I get to go back to the hometown for a little bit,” he said.

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Johnson closes out Players Championship with 72 alongside Woods."